


ANKLEBITERS

by embryonic_trite



Category: Teen Titans (Animated Series), Teen Titans (Comics), Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Crossover, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, F/M, Songfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-05
Updated: 2015-08-05
Packaged: 2018-04-13 02:53:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,414
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4504947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/embryonic_trite/pseuds/embryonic_trite
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if after being turned down by the Justice League in her plead for help, Raven became a member of the Team?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. ANKLEBITERS

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, this takes place around Season 1 of Young Justice.
> 
> Please ignore any errors that bother you when you see them.  
> I don't own anything by the way.
> 
> This was a requested prompt on Fanfiction.net
> 
> Title Inspiration: ANKLEBITERS by Paramore

* * *

_Try to remember how it felt_  
_To just make up your own steps_  
_And let anklebiters_ _  
_ _Chew up, spit out someone else._

_Fall in love with yourself._

_Because someday you're gonna be_  
_The only one you've got._  
_Someday you're gonna be_ _  
_ _The only one you've got._

* * *

Anyone in the mere presence of the famous caped crusader would've fainted from utter delight. It would take forever to get off that everlasting high that the great Batman is currently breathing the same air- it's not like he randomly stopped breathing the same air, it's just you were never sure until just now. Batman probably wouldn't appreciate his shoes getting drenched in your fan-tears though.

It was probably a good thing Raven didn't cry, nor did she enter "fangirl" moments. Or show any emotion at all.

"Are you nervous?" asked the equally stoic Batman.

Raven barely shook her head. She appreciated his attempt to make normal conversation with her, but considering how abnormal she was, she didn't consider it necessary.

"This might give me some time not to think about…" she trailed her voice, feeling the rest of the sentence redundant considering how all-knowing the "greatest detective" is.

He simply nodded a response, "I'm rather impressed that you decided to come to the Justice League," (1) he said, almost complimentary. If Robin heard, he'd never hear the end of it.

"I didn't know who else to turn to," Raven said.  _The monks of Azarath could only help so much_ , she silently added in her brain. Personally, she would've liked if the Justice League were a little more helpful- not just slightly brushing her off and telling her that she should join their covert operations team ("the team for sidekicks", Green Arrow called it).

The pair stood silently in front of a large, futuristic cave, the Zeta-Beam ready for the surprise entrance. Raven was starting to regret not just teleporting herself to Happy Harbor.

"I'll introduce you to the Team. Once you hear the authorization code, walk in," Batman instructed, "Don't worry, they don't know anything about your history." There was a silent "yet" in his tone.

The caped crusader turned toward the tube.  _"Batman. 02."_  Only taking a few steps, Batman disappeared through the tube.

Raven slowly removed the hood from her head, staring uncharacteristically anxious at the tube. Was she ready? Was it a good idea for the League to allow an attachment to the Justice League's future generation?

Raven didn't have enough time to answer her rhetorical questions because the tube started to circle and glow in yellow light. If she was planning to turn back, it was way too late. Pulling her blue hood over her face, she carefully stepped into the odd transportation system.

The empath closed her eyes, repeating her mantra in her head and calm her heart beats. She was nervous for control as always- not for the upcoming judgment from sidekicks. She slowly opened her eyes, remembering to take a step forward. She looked up and saw 8 people standing, waiting for her appearance.

One was a redheaded tall teenager, clad in a yellow and red uniform. It was quite obvious he was the Flash's younger sidekick (the lightning bolt on his chest was a giveaway).

One was a blonde in a green uniform. Again, the emblem on her chest made it quite obvious whose sidekick she was.

There was a green-skinned girl floating next to a black-haired boy with a superhero t-shirt and an Atlantean with blonde hair. Near the Atlantean was a black-haired girl in a magician's costume and a girl in a blue uniform with a slightly used brown jacket.

Finally, the Boy Wonder clad in red, yellow, and black (not the traffic light colors she originally heard about) was standing at the end, near his mentor.

"Team. This is Raven," Batman said, "She'll be you're new teammate."

"Another freshman?" (2) The boy with the Superman t-shirt asked, with obvious disdain in his tone. Raven had to resist the urge to roll her eyes.

Batman said, "Yes. I  _expect_  you to treat her nicely." Batman didn't say that for the sake of Raven's safety- merely for the team's safety. She personally told him that her powers were controlled by her emotions. If they provoked anything, an outlet would be catastrophic.

Deciding there was nothing to say, since argument was nearly silent, Batman walked away towards the Tube and headed back to the BatCave.

Underneath her cloak, Raven nervously rubbed the long-sleeved arms of her leotard.

The yellow-red speedster whisked over to Raven. "Hey cutie," he greeted in a singsong voice. "Kid Flash. Nice to meet you. You can call me Wally."

Raven hid the fact that her nails were digging deeply into her palm. The jealously projecting off the green-dressed blonde was amplifying and annoying.

"Raven," she clarified in monotone.

Wally's eyes widened, "Whoa. How do you talk like that?"

"Like what?" she said in her usual tone.

He eyed her funny before shaking his head, "Never mind." He turned to his team, "This is Artemis, Miss Martian, Superboy, Aqualad, Zatanna, Rocket, and Robin." He introduced him basically in the way Raven saw them.

She didn't bother with a "nice to meet you" or a "I'm excited to be here"; she just kept quiet and nodded politely.

"Who's you're mentor?" Miss Martian hesitantly asked.

"Red Arrow," Raven said. He wasn't really her mentor, the League just told her to answer that when asked (they were friends so it didn't make much of a difference).

Artemis snorted, "Seriously? Roy got a sidekick?"

Aqualad sent the archer a look before saying, "Welcome to the Team Raven."

Again, the empath just nodded and continued to rub her own body underneath her blue cloak.

"Would you like a tour or something?" Rocket suggested. She shared a small look with Superboy, who glared. He was always the first one who had to give tours to newbies.

"No thank you," Raven said, "Is there a room I can rest in?"

Aqualad hesitated slightly before saying, "Yes. Are you tired?"

She said, "Not exactly. I just… I need to meditate."

"You can do it here," Miss Martian welcomed politely.

"I'd prefer to be alone," Raven said, blunt as ever. Only Robin smirked at the strange girl's complete honesty.

Aqualad walked up to her and said, "I'll be happy to show you a room." The two walked off in mere silence.

"And I thought Batman was quiet," Kid Flash said the minute Raven was out of hearing.

"What's her deal?" asked Rocket.

Robin defended, "She's probably just anxious. It's like she's the new kid at school. It's going to take some time for her to get comfortable. You guys know what it's like being new to the team." He shot some looks at Artemis, Zatanna, and Rocket- reminding them how everyone cut them slack.

"Something about her," Zatanna said, "It just… it doesn't feel right."

"Will have time to get to know her," Robin reasoned, "We should be fair and give her time before we make any snap judgments."

Obviously there was nothing left to say towards Robin's reasoning. As everyone was about to leave, Robin, Kid Flash, and Artemis decided to stay.

"So why are you so defensive with  _Raven_?" Kid Flash teased his best friend.

Robin shrugged- feigning casualty, "Just being nice." Robin decided to leave. He didn't want his friend to come up with ridiculous theories about Robin's personal feelings.

He walked into the hallway. He didn't find out that Aqualad stashed her in the room next to Zatanna until he heard her chanting.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos. Azarath Metrion Zinthos. Azarath-"

The chanting suddenly stopped. Robin walked closer towards the door, until it automatically slide open.

Raven had her hood off, allowing Robin to stare (behind his mask) at her purple eyes, and he was so focused on her eyes that he barely noticed the red stone on her forehead.

"May I help you, Robin?"

He raised his eyebrows behind his mask, "How'd you know it was me?"

She explained, "I'm an empath. You're curiosity was… projected harshly."

"Sorry," he said.

She shook her head, "It's nothing to apologize for. It take me awhile to  _adapt_  to the new emotions around me."

"So, you're an empath? Is that it?" he pried lightly, absorbing Batman's detective skills though the atmosphere.

"No," she said.

"What else can you do?"

Raven hesitated slightly before saying, "It's a little difficult to explain."

It was a good thing Robin could take Raven's subtle hint of discomfort. He smiled politely at her and said, "If you ever need someone to  _explain_  to, feel free to find me."

She didn't smile. She simply muttered, "Thank you," before allowing the door to close in his face.

Even though he barely got any emotion out of her, he felt as if he had accomplished something.

He knew that feeling would soon past- Batman picked the wrong time to give a new mission. Robin hoped Raven had the chance to mediate enough.

Every team member, including Raven- well she was an official team member now, was surrounding Batman and Red Arrow. Out of the corner of his eye, Robin could see Red Arrow and Raven chatting. She wasn't smiling, but she looked less tense.

Everyone halted to see what the great Batman had to say.

"Dr. Asai has been captured here in this abandoned CADMUS facility," Batman pointed. Robin, Aqualad, Kid Flash, and Superboy remembered the last time they were in a Cadmus lab. Batman continued, "We need you to get him out."

"How do you expect us to get him out?" Artemis asked bluntly, "The area is covered in guards and radars."

Oddly enough, Batman and Red Arrow just looked over at the quietly hidden Raven as if she had all the answers.

"Think you can handle it, Rae?" Red Arrow asked, smirking slightly.

Raven scrunched her nose slightly at the nickname and said, "It shouldn't be too hard."

Batman said, "Then get ready for your first mission, Raven."

* * *

Everyone took their usual seats on the Bio-Ship. Just as Miss Martian was about to offer a seat for Raven, the dark girl began levitating herself behind Robin's seat, closing her eyes in meditation.

"So what exactly do they want  _her_  to do?" Superboy asked out loud.

"They want me to give you a way to get in without leaving a trace on the walls or the roof," Raven answered, even though she knew that wasn't really directed at her. It was rather impressive how she still managed to keep her eyes shut.

"How are you planning to do that?" Zatanna asked curiously, "Do you have magic?"

Robin shot them looks to stop snooping and to cut her some slack. He wished his teammates would be a little more welcoming to their newest member. Oblivious to him, Raven wasn't completely bothered by the nosiness.

"I can teleport," she answered simply.

"Whoa! That's cool," Kid Flash complimented before Artemis punched him in the shoulder.

"We're here," Miss Martian announced, "What's the game plan?"

Aqualad said, "Raven can teleport us from the roof. Then we'll have to sneak our way in to where the doctor is."

"There can be an easier way," Raven suggested, making an unorthodox approach at questioning the leader's methods.

Aqualad didn't seem to bothered though. He made a gesture and allowed Raven to further explain.

"Give me one minute, maybe two," she turned to Miss Martian, "Hide the Bio-Ship somewhere in the clouds so it looks less dubious." Without giving anyone a chance to argue, Raven stood still on the floor, allowing a black circle to eat her up.

"What the heck?" Rocket commented, "She's not the leader."

"No. But this is an opportunity to see what Raven is truly capable of," Aqualad said as Robin was staring out the Bio-Ship window. He couldn't help but watch the empath circle the building. It was mesmerizing watching her transform herself into a black raven.

"He's in the fourth room on the fifth level," Raven informed suddenly, appearing out of nowhere, "Two guards are around his room. One is scheduled to leave to get him food."

Artemis asked with awe in her tone, "How'd you do that?"

The question was ignored. "I suggest three of us head to his room, take care of the guards. But there should be one member guarding the security computers on room six of the seventh floor and two member guarding the security room."

The Atlantean didn't seem jealous at Raven's sudden leadership skills, but rather impressed. "And the remaining?" he asked.

Raven said in monotone, "Keep them here on the bio-ship. It's good to have a back-ups, but not in a place where they could easily get caught."

"Alright," agreed Aqualad, "I want Robin, Raven, and Artemis to go to get Dr. Asai. Kid Flash, Superboy, and I will go guard the security room while the rest of the Team will stay on the Bio-Ship in case of a distress call."

"Shouldn't Robin be the one in the security room?" Zatanna asked, "He's the one who can hack."

"I can do it from my own," Robin offered. In all honesty, he was the only one comfortable around Raven and felt that he should be the one to help her and look after her.

"Good. Get going," said Aqualad.

Without waiting, Raven grabbed Artemis and Robin's hands, enveloping them in a black bubble and disappearing off the ship.

* * *

Artemis shivered, "That was really creepy." She nearly screamed when she realized she was floating in thin air with Robin and Raven. Robin was too busy on the computer built into his glove while Raven was focusing on entering the actual building.

As Raven had half her mind on levitating her two teammates, her black-covered hand began twisting, her powers unlocking the window from the inside. She used both her hands to push the window up without force. She formed a black "slide" for Robin and Artemis to get into the room.

"So that's what your other powers are?" Robin asked when he landed. But Raven just kept silent, focusing on the room.

"Dr. Asai, we're here to rescue you?" Artemis said the elder man on the bed.

"Eh?" he responded, replying in a foreign language.

Raven seemed to be the only one who understood because she began speaking in the same language as him. She must've said something comforting because he began to tense less and smile at her.

Dr. Asai began talking to Raven, a look of worry on his face. Without hesitation, the empath turned, using her powers to close the window. "What are you doing?" Artemis whisper-hissed at her, "That's our exit!"

"No it's not. If they find out the window's open, they're going to go after his family," she said.

"Then how do you expect us to save him?" Artemis asked.

Raven paused. Robin couldn't help but see inner conflict in her posture. "We need to make ourselves noticeable."

"Robin, that's suicide!"

"We can get the guards working here for interrogation. That way, it'll buy us some time to find a way to protect his family," Robin said.

Artemis huffed in defeat, knowing that there was no getting through to the stubborn birds. Before she could respond, the door flung open and two guards waltzed in.

They didn't get time to yell at the Team because Raven captured them in a black claw and flung them rather hard against the wall- not enough to crack skulls, but enough to enter unconsciousness.

Artemis used a rope to tie the two guards up. "How are we expected to carry  _all_  of the guards here?"

"There's only four within the building," Raven informed, "Four that I know of." She encased the knocked-out guards into a black bubble and hung it over her head.

"We can't worry too much about the outside ones," Robin said, "We'll have to make our peace with what we have."

Without further argument, the three, plus the doctor, began making their way towards the exit, adding more guards to their collection in Raven' s bubble. It wasn't until they met up with Superboy.

"How do we get out now?" Artemis asked.

Raven huffed. She slowly encircled her team in her magic and cried, "Azarath Metrion Zinthos."

Zatanna, Rocket, and Miss Martian had been monitoring the building and were shaken when a black bird suddenly appeared in their ship. After Aqualad, Superboy, Artemis, Kid Flash, Robin, Dr. Asai, and some other guards flowed out of the bird, Raven appeared with her arms spread flat and her cloak flailing. She landed gently and pulled her hood off her face.

"Nice work Raven," Miss Martian complimented, "And you didn't kill anybody."

Raven didn't answer, instead she re-bubbled the guards and held them against the wall of the Bio-Ship.

"Miss Martian, head over to the Hall of Justice," Aqualad instructed, "Let them know we have Dr. Asai and a few others good for questioning."

As the other members took their seat, doing their own business, Robin walked over to Raven who was monitoring the guards and preventing them from waking.

"You did good on your first mission," he said.

"It was a little too easy," she replied.

He huffed, "I know it's going to take a while for you to break down those walls, but-"

"Thank you… for supporting me," Raven interrupted. Robin just stared blankly at her oddly outspoken gratitude. She turned to him and continued, "I know that the Team is struggling to welcome me, but you haven't. I've never… I've never had someone do that for me. So thank you."

Robin couldn't help but smile. He felt some sense of pride from getting her to say thank you and from learning that he was her first friend. "I'll be there for you. That's what teammates and friends are for."

"Friends?" she repeated confused.

Robin grabbed her pale hand, brining it to his lips, "Friends."

The Boy Wonder accidentally pulled Raven closer to him when he felt the ship make an uncharacteristic hitch, bumping into nothing. He stared down at Raven's blank face, ignoring the other members odd looks at the random malfunction.

Raven roughly pushed Robin away. She pulled her hood over her face again, disappointment to Robin, and said, "We're not friends. Because… if you knew what I really am, you wouldn't want me around."

Robin thoughtfully put his hand on her shoulder, "I know enough." (3)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (1) This is the whole comic persona- how Raven went to the Justice League for help but they rejected her. The only difference from this is that they don't completely reject her.
> 
> (2) That was a request in the prompt.
> 
> (3) Who remembers that?


	2. ESCAPE ROUTE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please ignore the fact that I don't own either Teen Titans or Young Justice AND this story's unedited
> 
> Song Inspiring: ESCAPE ROUTE by Paramore

* * *

_Just enough time to plan an escape route_

_I put my map on the wall in the basement_

_Not quite a victory to run from your problems_

_But it's the only plan that I got_

_It's the only plan that I got_

* * *

Raven huffed and pumped her legs harder as her blue bike straddled the inclines of Mount Justice. Yes, the Azarathian could've just levitated herself but she was out of uniform – and how often did civilians see a girl in cut offs and a dark gray V-neck floating around a mountain.

Because the mountain didn't exactly have designated parking areas, Raven leaned her bike near a tree before flicking her fingers and setting a charm on her bike. She couldn't afford to lose another one.

She clicked a few buttons on the side of the mountain, did the usual security procedures, and headed into Mount Justice through the hangar.

Conner happened to be waiting for her. "I hope your trip to Jump City was helpful," the Kryptonian clone greeted.

Raven sent a general nod in his direction, "It could've been better," she watched him eyeing her left wrist, "Have you told anyone else?"

He shook his head, "It is not my secret to tell. But Red Arrow's been asking about you."

"I spoke with him," she said as they walked towards the living quarters, "He thinks I should tell the Team … I know I should, Kon, but I'm not ready. I'm just here because you asked me to."

Conner wasn't bothered by the way she addressed him, she being the only one to call him that (with the exception of Superman calling him "Kon-El"). He studied the girl with purple hair in front of him. "People should begin to notice you acting different," he said.

In monotone, she said, "I'll be fine."

Conner stood nonchalantly, mentally discussing ways to respond to her somewhat calm posture. He didn't even begin mentioning how a certain acrobat was on the border of becoming a recluse since she left. Not knowing how to handle, he nodded politely.

"It's nice to have you back, Raven," he said over his shoulder. (1)

* * *

" _Recognize Nightwing. B01."_

Nightwing entered the Mission Room when Aqualad, Superboy, Batgirl, Beast Boy, Impulse, Tigress, and Miss Martian were already there. It was taking a while for the team to adjust to Nightwing and Kaldur's joint leadership, and to having Kid Flash and Artemis – aka Tigress – back. (2)

"Do we have everybody?" Nightwing asked as he approached Conner.

Conner shook his head, "We're still waiting for one more."

Nightwing's masked wrinkled around his nose, "Is it Robin, he's usually on time."

"Not Robin," smirked Beast Boy, looking over Nightwing's shoulder, "But someone else in the bird family. And it wasn't till Nightwing turned around did he understand the jibe.

Raven walked in – for once the hood of her cloak not covering her pale face – and stood in the back to wait for instructions, per usual. Her uniform was different; a blue corset top hugged her torso nicely, stopping short over her hip so some skin was revealed until it met her black leggings. She kept her old belt and boots too.

Nightwing was a gentleman, so he tried to avert his eyes away from her body and focused on her face. She had a small scar on her right eyebrow and a cut over her upper lip. Her purple hair was two steps away from being black, and was nicely tightened in a braid.

"It's nice to see you, Raven!" Beast Boy went over to Raven and raised his hand for a high five, he knew how she felt about hugs.

With a light look of annoyance, Raven slapped her hands with his.

"Thought you were in Jump," Artemis said with a creased brow.

The archer didn't intimidate Raven, "I was. Conner asked me to come here."

Nightwing locked eyes – even those his were behind his mask – with Raven, but she quickly turned away, trying to avoid him at all costs.

"We don't have enough times for introductions," Kaldur said, "Nightwing and Raven will be on a solo mission infiltrating STAR Labs in Boston." He then went on to assign other people to their missions.

Raven nearly screamed at Conner for dragging her here just for a covert mission. "Why did you need me, Kon?"

"Because you were the one sneaky enough to get in and not make any noise," he said. It was a crappy excuse, but it was the best he could use as a cover up for 'Robin suggested it so Nightwing would stop moping'.

Raven shook her head, "What are we looking for?"

Kon pointed at the computer, a small black rectangle with a silver end.

"You want me to break into STAR Labs for a flash drive?" she asked judgmentally, "Is this flash drive that important that Nightwing and I risk our asses for it?"

Kaldur nodded solemnly, "The flash drive contains a list of everyone on the Team's secret identities. (3) Will you two be able to work together?" By the look he gave, it was quite obvious that they'd be forced into the situation even if their own answers said otherwise.

* * *

"Why'd you go to Jump?" Nightwing suddenly asked after a long ride of silence, he seemed to remember that Raven didn't like talking when she was levitating.

She was taken off balance by his blunt question – one of the quirks he learned from her. Raven quickly caught him again, this time levitating while carrying him by his arms. She planted him on the roof before pulling her hood over her head, "I had things to take care of."

He rolled his eyes behind his mask, "Really Rave? I know you better, stop hiding from me."

She grimaced behind her hood, creating a portal, "We have a mission to complete, Dick."

He complied momentarily and jumped in. Once she herself landed he asked, "Did you not like any of the new ones?"

Raven nearly laughed at how off topic he was at the moment. "It had nothing to do with the new members," she said truthfully. Raven understood why he would think that considering Beast Boy annoyed her, she thought L'gann was obnoxious, and Batgirl was arrogant… to name a few.

"Was it Kaldur leaving?" he asked as they walked through the halls.

"It had nothing to do with Kaldur," she said. He was one of the few kinder spirits towards her when she first arrived and respected him greatly as a leader.

"Was it Artemis?" he asked, accidentally stepping over an alarm. A security guard was in the hallway across from him, running in their direction. Nightwing didn't even break a sweat as he threw his Eskirma stick at the officer like a boomerang.

They continued forward at Nightwing's persistent game of 20 (unwanted) questions. "It wasn't Artemis either," she said. Another officer coming from her left, Raven was in her stance, grabbing a test tube and flinging it at the officer's neck, causing him to fall backwards.

Two more came from both sides. One approached Nightwing with a waving fist, but he easily grabbed it and twisted the man's arm before kneeing him in the back and causing him to fall – his partner tripping over his in pain body. "It wasn't the new ones, it wasn't Kaldur, and it wasn't Artemis. Why won't you tell me what it was?"

Raven was preoccupied with three officers coming her way. She jumped and kicked one in the face. She grabbed his body before he fell to the ground, threw him at the other two and forced them on their backs. "Is this really important?" she asked-yelled as they began running down the halls.

"Yes!" Nightwing said as he ran beside her, "It is because I was worried sick about you." The two stopped in front of a door. Raven kicked it open and led him up the stairs. "You didn't keep in contact with any of us, not even Roy."

They reached the fourth floor before exiting the stairway, more guards waiting their arrival. Raven grabbed on to him before teleporting them to an office on the 6th floor.

Before Raven could walk away, she couldn't move from her spot because the former protégé to the bat grabbed her wrist. "Nightwing, you have no right-"

He wrapped his arms around her, his hands gripping the back of her cloak and his face buried in her shoulder. Raven's hands were awkwardly at her side, a slightly shocked expression dancing its way onto her face.

"Nightwing… Dick, we're on a mission."

"I know," he murmured, "I just… I needed to hug you," as fast as it happened, he released her and headed towards the other cubicles with Raven following him awkwardly.

Kaldur mentioned the person who had the USB, and it took Dick a total of 43.8 seconds to find it. Smirking at her, he said, "Mission completed," he rolled the flash drive in between his fingers.

Raven didn't have enough time for a comeback; the muffled sound of multiple officers on their way up the stairs was getting louder. She held onto him once more, "Let's get out of here."

* * *

Raven could feel Dick still had a bunch of unanswered questions, he would wait till after Kaldur thanked them to bombard her with them.

"How long will you be staying, Raven?" Kaldur asked.

She ran a hand through her messy hair, "Only tonight. I need to leave by morning."

The Atlantean nodded, "Again, thank you for your assistance. Superboy made the right choice calling you," he headed towards the Zeta-Tubes and was gone within the minute.

Raven headed toward the living quarters, had a former acrobat not grabbed onto her for the second time that night. She was getting really tired of this one sided tug of war.

"Dick, I need some sleep," she said.

He turned her around to face him. His gloved hand was on the side of her cheek; she couldn't help but subconsciously lean into him.

"Where have you been, Rave?" he asked.

Pushing his hand away, Raven glared at the floor, "Don't."

He gripped her upper arms, "I won't stop wondering. Raven… you left without saying anything; you left after you told us whom your father was… Did…" he couldn't even decide how to ask.

She put a hand on the side of his face, "I had to take care of some things with my father."

"What kind of things?" he asked under his breath. She was hesitant to answer. He pulled her closer to him and soothingly rubbed his hands up and down. "Rave… you can trust me. Have I ever given you a reason not to? I defended you when you first came, I told you about my parents, I… I waited all these years in love with you despite the fact that I never knew if you were coming back. "

Raven turned to look at him and stared into his porcelain, baby blue eyes – when he took the time to take off his mask she wouldn't know – and saw only love and compassion dilating his pupils.

She took a deep breath before looking up at him, "I was in Jump City looking for the cult my mother originally joined. I had to know more about my birth… how I'm…"

She stared back at her feet as she answered through gritted teeth, "I'm not completely human. I'm… I'm also Trigon's portal to earth. His arrival will be coming soon… and I…"

He didn't need to hear her finish, embracing her he pulled her to his chest. She didn't cry, she didn't scream, she didn't punch him in the chest. She stood their motionless as he made comforting circles on her back and buried his nose into her hair.

He tilted her chin up and said, against her plump lips, "We'll get through this together."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (1) Raven's no longer on the Team and was in Jump City during 3 out of the 5 year gap.
> 
> (2) ENDGAME NEVER HAPPENED – WALLY NEVER CEASED
> 
> (3) I was watching Ultimate Deadpool - that's where the original idea came from


	3. MAD LOVE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a subtle disclaimer of the fact that I don't own Teen Titans/Young Justice. This is also unedited… I did use word check but I'm not too sure if that counts
> 
> Also, please know that this is the sappiest thing I've written and I'm sorry if Dick seems too OOC.
> 
> Song Inspiring: MAD LOVE by The Veronicas

* * *

_you can't love without a little fight,_

_I really wanna be with you man,_

_you're such a pain to try and understand,_

_but the way you lay it down on me,_

_I can't wait cause it's hard to speak,_

_I gotta feeling you cast a spell, I slipped and then I fell_

* * *

Dick Grayson pushed a pair of clubmaster sunglasses up his nose with the middle finger, to keep the transparent lenses from falling off his nose. He sipped at his lemonade and slyly winked at the girl sitting at the table across him, before turning back to the current edition of his newspaper.

The stories of the day were fairly disappointing considering these journalists were only focused on how Superman might be cheating on Batman with Green Arrow and how Batman is cheating on Superman with Green Lantern (Guy Gardner). And then there was this other article that -

A large shadow covered the cartoon section. "Mr. Grayson," said a gruff voice, "Please come with us," he put a hand on Dick's shoulder.

"Is there something you need, sir?" he asked without turning around.

"Don't get cocky,  _Dick_ ," said the first man's accomplice, "Go with us if you don't want other people to get hurt."

Dick wouldn't have struggled with the two men, but it was a better choice not to make a scene. He stood from his seat, throwing a few bills onto the table, and followed the goons to a dark alley. That wasn't suspicious…

One of them forced Dick against a brick wall as the other started reaching towards his pants. Dick let out a relieved sigh when he saw the knife; gay sex wasn't scary, but rape was -  _is_.

He pointed the knife against Dick's  _Foo Fighters_  t-shirt, "You're gonna answer our questions, and we won't get your blood on that nice shirt. If you - "

As if it was a timed in a TV show, a red arrow buried itself into the arm of the man restraining Dick. The one holding the knife took his eyes off him for two seconds, allowing the no-longer restrained acrobat to attack. Considering the guy's size, Dick was rather disappointed it didn't take much effort to knock him down.

Roy Harper - Red Arrow smirked at the former Boy Wonder, who looked very confused scratching his temple. "A thank you will suffice," Roy said in a snarky tone.

Dick raised an eyebrow behind his sunglasses, "How'd you know where I was?"

"It wasn't too hard," Roy said as he stuffed his bow back into his case, "Figured you'd come here eventually." He smirked at the younger man, "I actually you would've waited longer to come here to Jump."

Dick tensed slightly, brushing off the open button-down covering his t-shirt. "How long have you been here?" he asked as the two began walking.

"Not that long. Going back today, though. Just had to say hello to a  _friend_ ," Roy said.

"Who else knows her residence?"

Roy chuckled to himself, "Black Canary and I know… and Bats, actually. But Superboy and KF found her phone number. You probably have it, right?"

Dick was pretty sure that Roy would see his widened eyes behind his sunglasses. Even  _Bruce_  knew where she was…

Roy studied the onyx-haired man's face, making it quite obvious how lost and somewhat hurt Dick was by the lack of information. Before Dick could look up and answer him, Roy interrupted, "She'll kill me if she finds out what I did… then she'll kill me for killing you."

Smirking slightly at Dick's confused face, Roy put a card in Dick's hand and said, "She goes by Rachel - kinda a nickname. And," he looked down at his watch, "she should be heading home right now."

The smug look on Roy's face would be hard to wipe off, even if he knew Dick was staring at his back and couldn't see how the archer was gloating silently.

* * *

Raven hated surprises - hate was a strong word but it was the only synonym relevant to the case. Thankfully, her emotion-sensing powers allowed the percentage of people surprising her to decrease.

That's why, after opening the door, she didn't hesitate to reach into the shadows and pushed her intruder against the wall as well as twisting his hand behind his back. "Sneaking up on me is probably the  _stupidest_  thing you could do in your ephemeral life," she hissed.

The stranger groaned, "What is with the people of Jump City needing to push people against walls?"

Raven blinked, then her back was against solid concrete and she hissed at the cold feeling. Her eyes were traditionally used to seeing in the dark, but this time she struggled slightly. She did, however, feel both of his hands near her head as a way to block her in. She reached behind her and fingered the light switch, allowing to see the person who overpowered her.

Dick Grayson stood before her in denim jeans, an open button down shirt with a  _Foo Fighters_  t-shirt underneath, and a pair of Ray Bans hanging on the collar. Dick was traditionally a good dresser, so she was surprised to see a tear near his collarbone.

"How the hell did you find me?" she said through gritted teeth, pushing him off her and heading towards her closet. She hung her green military jacket on a hanger so she wouldn't have to meet his face.

"Hello to you to, Rave."

She raised an eyebrow at him while her lip formed an oddly straight line, "Seriously,  _Nightwing_ , tell me so I know which League member will be seeing me in their nightmares tonight."

"Can't reveal my sources, Rave."

Her nose wrinkled - Dick couldn't help but find that awfully cute - and hissed, "I will get it out of you if I need to, Grayson."

He leaned on his elbow against the wall near her closet door, and smirked at her, "Are you gonna tie me up? That's oddly kinky of you." Dick couldn't help feeling a little smug considering he could look down at her  _now_.

She slammed the door, Dick's eyes only showing any indication that he was startled. Her arms were crossed over her torso so Dick had to remind himself not to fawn over how her arms pushed her breasts up, pressing them against the fabric of her blouse.

"Obviously torture won't work," she winced slightly at the memory of the time they were both tortured in the middle of a mission, "So I'll try again:  _why_  are you here, Dick?"

Dick courageously pulled her closer to him using the black suspenders connected to her trousers. He rested one hand on her hip while he fingered the tips of her hair with his other hand, "I just wanted to see you. I haven't seen you since…"

With that, Raven took both of her hands in her own and pushed them back to his sides. She didn't see him clenching his fists in frustration behind his back.

"Did I say something that upset you?" he asked her, somewhat amused by how Raven was trying to distract herself by making tea. She looked back at him, and Dick considered telling her she put salt in her tea instead of sugar.

"It's nothing," she said to her teapot, "I'm just a little… I'm still confused as to why you're suddenly here."

"It probably has something to do with the fact that I wasn't satisfied with your 'goodbye'," he answered, "Or something to do with after all the crap we've been through you're still hiding from everyone, let alone me," slight anger in his tone.

She finally turned to face him. Both of them having a face off across from each other, the marble counter being the only thing separating the two of them.

Dick tilted his head at her. "I came here to find you because I'm tired of you running from me," he admitted.

Raven clenched the edge of the counter, "I'm not running from you, Dick. I told you I was leaving  _immediately_  after everything was taken care of. Trigon was taken care of so I left immediately. I wasn't going back to the life I left on purpose."

"I thought you knew that I wanted you to stay," he leaned towards her, "I wasn't as blunt as I thought," he said, drawing imaginary circles on the marble counter.

She pushed a lock of her shoulder-length hair behind her ear, "I would've been useless to the team."

The look on his face conveyed obvious irritation, "I didn't want you to stay for the Team unless you wanted to, Rave." He huffed, knowing very well that Raven only responded well to obvious statements, "I wanted you to be with me, whether or not we were still fighting crime."

Raven hated that he was being honest; that meant she would have to as well.

"I didn't know that, Dick," she rubbed at her arms, really wishing he came  _after_  she had the chance to shower, "I… I wasn't ready to get attached to anyone after my little family reunion. And I… I'm quite aware of how the League and the Team see me."

Dick bit his lower lip as he took the information in. Instead, he sat on the marble and swung his legs over the counter so he was on the same side as her (she almost forgot he was an acrobat). He took the opportunity to put his hands behind her neck and pulling her forward, putting his lip to hers. He used a lot of force, to the point where it might've been painful had Raven not been as strong as she was. Dick moved his hands from her neck and took her hands in his, pressing it against his chest.

The demon inside her was contemplating biting his lip to the point of bleeding just before ripping his head from his neck. The sane side of her still wanted to push him off her but not to the point of murder.

He whispered against her lips, "Can't you tell how I see you Raven?" before pulling away.

She gave him a hard push - not enough to knock him down but she did shake his balance - and took a step back. Clenching the side of the sink, "I saw you with Batgirl," she confessed.

Dick's eyes increased in size while his pupils did the opposite; he wasn't exactly feeling guilt but instead feeling the same thing he's been feeling for years… longing. He watched as Raven played with her fingers and huffed, "Rave, this isn't about me and Barbara. This is about you and me."

"I don't want to pursue anything if you're with someone else," she replied.

"Then you can be with me because I'm not with her, Raven, not when I've always wanted you," he said, "And don't bring any other girls into this to use as an excuse; they were amazing in their own way, but they weren't anything to me… not in comparison to you."

He continued, "I hated how long it took me to finally tell you that I love you, Raven, but the battle with Trigon reminded me that I finally have someone that means everything to me. And I'm not losing you any time soon, I'll make sure of that."

Walking up to her, he rubbed the sides of her arms, and asked, "Do you want me to get on my knees and beg? Do you want me to separate myself from them so I won't cause you a  _centimeter_  of discomfort? Do you want me to quit leading the team? Do you want me to stop being Nightwing? Just tell me what you want me to do so I can do it and so I can finally hold you and never let you go." Dick felt embarrassed that he was exposing himself to her, but Raven was worth it. She was easy to lose, but the former sidekick to the Batman wanted to be the only one to find her.

Raven felt so lost in his confession that she couldn't remember why she was fighting him. The small drop of plasma on his lower lip reminded her; it reminded her that she couldn't handle losing him.

"Why did you leave in the first place?" he questioned, sounding rather frantic.

"I love saving other people's lives and knowing I did good. But I was afraid of losing control," she said.

Dick realized that answer was rehearsed, "Rave, please be honest with me."

"And," she placed a hand against his chest, near his heart; "I was growing to attached to you. I wasn't ready to find out what my reaction would be if I ever lost you in battle," she stepped back from him, "I can't be the weak girl whose life depended on the boy she loves."

He took a moment to get over Raven admitting to loving him - present tense. "Raven I never thought you were weak," he said as he collected himself, "I thought you leaving was you being a coward, until I found out why. Then I realized you weren't, considering the strength it took to isolate yourself from the people you care about. And it shocks me how you think  _depending_  on me would be a weakness when it would make you stronger than you already are."

He held her face in his hands, the pad of his thumb grazing against her soft cheeks. "Would you ever ask me to stop being Nightwing?"

"I just want you to be happy," she said as she held his wrists. Raven was really getting irritated with how she was blurting the truth out. Stupid Dick Grayson.

Dick leaned into her and whispered into her ear, "Then be happy… and hold me."

He couldn't even begin to describe the euphoria he felt from Raven wrapping her arms around his neck and running her hands through his hair. Holding her against him brought her even closer to his heart, he was embracing the woman he loves. It only took her almost ten years to finally let him.


End file.
